Page 78 of Tainted Obsession 1

Men on his payroll assaulted my woman. It’s his duty as my friend to make them pay.

“I handled it,” I growl.

His eyes rove over my bloody face, and he nods his approval. He opens the SUV door and gestures for me to get Evelyn inside the armored vehicle.

We ride to the safety of his mansion in awful silence. Evelyn doesn’t sob or scream. She’s utterly still in my arms, her eyes closed.

She won’t look at me, and I don’t command her to. I can’t bear to see the horror in her eyes again.

Fearof me.

We arrive at the mansion, and I carry her straight to the bedroom, passing the diamond necklace where she discarded on the floor.

My stomach knots. She must’ve taken it off.

She ran away as soon as I left her alone. I’ve trapped her in my dangerous world, and I dragged her to Colombia against her will.

This is all my fault.

But I can’t let her go.I can’t.

I pull her tighter to my chest, caging her in my arms. I’ll fix this. I’ll fix her.

I carry her into the bathroom and turn on the shower. A cascade of water sprays from multiple directions, and it warms almost immediately.

Not bothering to strip off our clothes, I toe off my shoes and step into the massive shower stall with her in my arms. The water runs red, and I’m grateful that her eyes are closed.

I wait until the worst of the gore has washed from my skin. I won’t start to take off our clothes until she’s calmer; stripping her naked in the aftermath of what she suffered is the last thing she needs.

She still clings to her ruined dress, her fingers locked in the soaked black silk.

I sink to my knees and set her down so that she’s sitting with her back against the tiled wall. Her eyes remain closed as I quickly strip off my sodden shirt.

No amount of soapy water will get the bloodstains out of the white material. She doesn’t need to see that.

The blood splatter no longer mars her complexion. It isn’t her blood.

She begins to shiver despite the heat of the water, her body quaking violently as her teeth chatter.

I pull her tightly against me and press my palm over her racing heart, calming her before she goes into shock.

“Breathe, Evelyn.”

My sweet girl heaves in a shuddering breath, her chest convulsing with the effort.

“Good girl. Keep breathing.”

I breathe with her, forcing my own chest to rise and fall in a steady rhythm. After a few minutes, her breaths slow to match mine, and her heartbeat resumes a normal pace beneath my hand.

She draws in one more deep breath, then releases it on a harsh sob. A keening sound like a wounded animal echoes off the tiles, the most horrific thing I’ve ever heard. My shredded heart twists violently, as though the ruined organ will tear asunder.

I’m capable of enduring physical pain, but her distress is agony. An awful sense of helplessness robs all the strength frommy muscles. I’ve never felt so weak and useless, not even as a scrawny, sheltered boy.

I rock her gently, a stream of comforting words dropping from my lips in my native tongue. I don’t know what I’m saying, but the cadence seems to slowly soothe her.

She trembles in my arms, but her sobs quiet.

“You’re safe,” I murmur, stroking her wet hair back from her chilled cheek. “No one will hurt you.”